be a backseat driver be a pain in the neck be a wet blanket be full of beans be full of hot air be in a pickle be in the doghouse be three sheets to the wind beat around the bush beef something up bend over backwards bite the bullet break the ice bring home the bacon bring the house down burn one s bridges bury the hatchet catch someone red-handed Fun With Idioms (Page 1) - Lesson Collection Set #2
chew the fat come from out of the blue cook the books cut corners do something at the drop of a hat do something for kicks dressed to kill eat one s words eat your heart out face the music feed the kitty feel under the weather find a skeleton in the closet fly off the handle get cold feet get off the hook get the axe give a left-handed compliment Fun With Idioms (Page 2) - Lesson Collection Set #2
give someone a buzz glued to the idiot box go back to the drawing board go down the hatch go the whole hog go up in smoke grab forty winks ham it up have a bone to pick have a lead foot have one s hands tied have other fish to fry have sticky fingers hit the bull s eye hit the sack hold the fort hold your horses is a babe in the woods Fun With Idioms (Page 3) - Lesson Collection Set #2
is dead in the water is long in the tooth is no spring chicken is not my cup of tea is straight from the horse s mouth it s chicken feed it s nothing to sneeze at it s on the rocks it s up in the air it s water under the bridge keep a nest egg kick the bucket know the ropes leave no stone unturned let one s hair down let the cat out of the bag like two peas in a pod live from hand to mouth Fun With Idioms (Page 4) - Lesson Collection Set #2
lose one s shirt lose your lunch make a drop in the bucket make a fast buck make a killing miss the boat need a hair of the dog open a can of worms pass the buck pay lip service pick up the tab play it by ear pop the question put one s foot down read between the lines ring a bell roll out the red carpet ruffle someone s feathers Fun With Idioms (Page 5) - Lesson Collection Set #2
scraping the bottom of the barrel shoot the breeze sit on the fence smell a rat spill the beans stick out like a sore thumb sweep it under the carpet take a rain check take it with a grain of salt talk about the birds and the bees that s a fat chance throw in the towel tighten your belt to be in stitches turn over a new leaf wear one s birthday suit wear the pants in the family zero in on something Fun With Idioms (Page 6) - Lesson Collection Set #2
Teachers Instructions (1/2) Fun With Idioms placed in a deck face down. One student takes the top card, shows it to everyone, (all students write it in their notebooks) and students take turns trying to convince the others what they think the idiom means. Probably few, if any students, will actually know the real meaning; nevertheless, they should all explain what they think it means and then use the idiom in a sentence. 1. Student ability: High Beginner ~ Intermediate 2. Approximate length of lesson: Varies 3. Number of students necessary: 2+ 4. Preferred age/maturity: JHS, HS, College, Adult 5. Type of lesson: Group / Whole class * * * * * Language Target: Introducing common English idioms to improve the sound of natural conversation while learning new vocabulary and slang. Setting Up: Print the worksheets on heavy paper and cut them into cards. If possible,.laminate them. [Depending on the Method used, more than one set of cards may be necessary.] Getting Started: There is no one way to use these idioms, the following will explain several ways in which the idiom cards can be used. There are a total of 108 idiom cards; they have been carefully selected from the thousands of available idioms because of their commonness, interest level and usability in conversation for English learners. Method 1: In groups of four to six, each group is given one set of Idiom Cards. The cards should be well shuffled and Students vote for the answer they think is most likely the real meaning of the idiom. The student with the most votes earns a point. Then the student who turned over the first Idiom Card can either ask the teacher for the real meaning or consult the internet or an Idiom Dictionary. The student then informs the others in the group the real meaning of the idiom and encourages a few students in the group to use it in a sentence. Then another student turns over the next Idiom Card and the process continues as above. Method 2: In groups of four to six, each student draws an Idiom Card from the deck and learns its meaning (from the teacher, the internet or an Idiom Dictionary). Students return to their group and one of them shows the idiom to the others. Students ask the owner of the Idiom Card Does it mean? questions; the owner replies with Yes, it does, No, it doesn t. Students can ask as many questions as they like, and thy can ask the owner to put the idiom into an example sentence. Once the meaning of the idiom is discovered, all students write it in their Fun With Idioms [Lesson Collection Set #2 Lesson 21]
α Teachers Instructions (2/2) notebooks along with the definition and an example sentence. Then another student shows his Idiom Card and the process is repeated as above until all of the students in the group have shown their Idiom Cards. Students could simply stop here or take another Idiom Card from the deck and begin again. Method 3: As a pair work activity, each student takes five or six cards, learns their meanings and shows one of the cards to the partner. The partner tries to guess the meaning and the owner offers several example sentences to assist. If the partner arrives at the correct meaning of the idiom, an example sentence should be created as well. If the partner doesn t have the foggiest idea, the owner simply explains the meaning. Then partners switch roles and the other shows an Idiom Card which begins the activity anew. Method 4: To teach idioms in a whole class setting, the teacher randomly selects one of the Idiom Cards, reads it and makes sure that all students have written it in their notebooks. Then the students ask Does it mean? questions and the teacher says, Yes, it does, No, it doesn t., or Close, but no cigar. If students are stumped, the teacher offers some example sentences until the students can spot the meaning of the idiom. Once discovered, students write the meaning in their notebooks, The teacher then asks for some students to use it in a sample sentence. Method 5: An Idiom a Day: Each lesson, the teacher introduces an idiom (using a similar procedure as Method 4 above) but stops with only one idiom. On the next day, the previous idiom is reviewed, students use it in a sentence and then a new one is introduced. By the time ten or twenty days have passed, students will be very familiar with the earlier idioms and will hopefully be using them in their classroom conversations. It may be a good idea to enlarge the Idiom Cards and create a chain of them which will eventually encircle the classroom. Building Fluency: Once students have learned a dozen or so idioms, encourage pairs of students to write a short dialogue in which they use at least four of the idioms. These dialogues are then read to the rest of the class. [There are many on-line resources of idioms. The following is particularly useful because of its quantity, clear definitions and example sentences: http://www.idiomconnection.com/ ] Contributed by Kurt Scheibner CLICK HERE TO ORDER ALL 300+ FUN LESSON WORKSHEETS Fun With Idioms [Lesson Collection Set #2 Lesson 21]